2025-08-05 20:09:56The school was silent after the storm. Craig was defeated, twitching on the floor, and Lisa—though still shaken—helped Max gather his things. Her concern lingered in her eyes, but Max reassured her with the weakest of smiles. "I'm okay," he said, even though his body felt like it had been borrowed, broken, and returned.
She watched him walk off alone, worried. Max stepped into his dark, dusty home. He walked past the cracked wall and old furniture to a framed picture sitting on the shelf. He gently wiped away the dust with his sleeve, revealing a photo of himself and his mom, both smiling brightly in a sunlit park. He sat down on the couch, exhaling deeply, and looked at the two strange presences floating before him. “You two,” he muttered. “What are you?” The winged creature hovered closer, grinning. “I’m the Grim Ripper,” he said with a bow, his voice laced with pride. “Master of spirits, controller of the dead, dealer of soul-fueled destruction.” Max blinked. “And… the screen?” [I AM THE SYSTEM.] [A LIVING PROGRAM. AN INTERFACE FOR POWER. A GUIDE FOR THE CHOSEN.] Max squinted. “What were you guys doing in a video game then?” [LOOKING FOR A WARRIOR.] The Grim Ripper floated a little higher, crossing his arms. “Both of us came from different dimensions. We’ve got problems, and we need someone who can fight.” “What kind of problems?” Max asked warily. The Grim Ripper’s face darkened. “Someone’s messing with the balance of life and death. They’re stealing souls—people who already passed—and using them like puppets. Dangerous puppets.” [MY MISSION IS TO FIND SOMEONE TO DEFEND AGAINST THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.] [THEY’VE AWAKENED AGAIN.] Max scratched his head. “Okay… cool lore. But what’s it got to do with me?” The screen glowed. [BECAUSE YOU ARE APEX_MJ.] [THE ONE WHO BRAVED THE VOID. THE SLAYER OF KINGS. THE ONLY LEVEL 99.] Max blushed slightly, looking away. “C-C’mon… that’s just a username.” The Grim Ripper grinned. “You were a legend. And legends attract destiny.” “Okay,” Max muttered. “But… I gotta ask: what exactly do you do?” he pointed at the Grim Ripper. “Oh,” said Grim, smugly. “I grant you the souls of legendary warriors. You can summon their knowledge, their weapons, even their moves. Swordmasters, monks, assassins.” Max's eyes widened. “That’s… OP.” The system flickered slightly. [A SMALL FEATURE. MINE IS BETTER.] The Grim Ripper smirked. “Pick one of us.” Max paused. He looked between them. “Wait. What if… I pick both?” There was silence. [...] [INVALID—WAIT. ACCEPTABLE.] The Grim Ripper tilted his head. “If you do, you’re accepting both of our missions. That’s double the danger.” Max stood, eyes serious. “For the first time in my life… I feel like someone special. Like I matter. I’m in.” The next day… Max left his house with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He gripped a strange old-fashioned bronze key in his pocket. Flashback: [REWARD GRANTED: FIRST FIGHT WON] [BONUS: +5 ATTRIBUTE POINTS | ITEM: BRONZE SKILL KEY] [USE TO UNLOCK A HIDDEN SKILL FROM YOUR CHOSEN PATH.] “Today’s a good day,” Max muttered to himself. School was quiet. Too quiet. Craig was nowhere to be found. Max didn’t question it. Classes came and went. Max smiled more. No bruises. No snacks run. He even saw Lisa smile when she passed him in the hallway. But as the sun dipped low and school ended, Max saw Craig waiting outside the gate. Craig looked… different. His face serious. Eyes low. “Hey, Max,” he said. Max tensed. “What do you want?” Craig looked away. “To… apologize. I messed up. You didn’t deserve what I did. None of it.” Max’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. “I want to make it up to you,” Craig continued. “There’s this new gaming café. I thought maybe… we could play a few rounds. Just… chill.” Max blinked. This guy had stomped his face yesterday. And now… gaming? Was the world ending? “I—uh—yeah, sure. I guess,” Max said cautiously, smiling a little. They walked together, talking like classmates. For once, it almost felt normal. But Craig’s phone buzzed. A single message appeared on the screen, unnoticed by Max: [He’s with me. Prepare the setup.]
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Chapter 30 – The Grind of Madness
The next day, Max woke up with a groan and half a mind to smash his system window with a brick. But the glowing words refused to vanish:[Quest Initiated: Body Enchantment Training.]Mission One: Commute to school in Dragoon Pose. Distance: 49,869m.]Max squinted. “Forty-nine… thousand… meters? That’s like—what, running a marathon? In a crouch?!”The system blinked at him silently, cruel as ever.So, he did it.At seven in the morning, Max shuffled out of his house crouched low, arms spread like some cosplay knight, thighs already burning. His knees trembled as he waddled down the street.By the twentieth meter, his face was red, sweat dripping down his chin. He collapsed against a lamppost, gasping.“Twenty meters down… forty-nine thousand, eight hundred and forty-nine to go,” he wheezed. “I’m gonna die.”Students on their way to Bloomfield High burst into laughter.“Look at Johnson! What is he doing?!”“Bro, is this some new TikTok challenge?”“Nah, he’s cosplaying a crippled kangar
Chapter 29: Rain of Defeat
The rain came heavy, turning the street into rivers of broken light. Streetlamps flickered, their glow hazy through the downpour. The night carried a silence that felt alive, broken only by the steady rhythm of water hitting asphalt.Max stood in the middle of the road, soaked, fists clenched so hard his nails dug into his palms. His swollen eye still burned from the last fight, but his gaze never left the figure across from him.Isaac Holt.The older boy strolled casually beneath the cover of a black umbrella held by one of his bodyguards, his pristine shoes untouched by the water splashing around them. He looked less like a fighter and more like a king surveying a subject.“Give me the flash,” Max demanded, his voice cutting through the storm. “The footage of my mom.”Isaac tilted his head, lips curling into a smirk. “Flash? Ah… so you know.” He chuckled low, the sound mixing with the patter of rain. “But, Max… what makes you think you can take it from me?”The umbrella shifted slig
Chapter 28: Keys of the Past
The cemetery was quiet, the kind of silence that presses against the skin like a weight. Marble headstones stood like sentinels, some polished and new, others cracked with time.Max stood before one in particular, his head lowered, hands tucked into his pockets. The engraved letters—Sarah King—caught the last light of the evening sun. His mother’s name.The flowers he brought were simple, not expensive—wild daisies and lilies tied with a cheap ribbon. Yet when he placed them down, they looked right. His fingers lingered on the stone, tracing her name like he was afraid to let go.“Hey, Mom,” he muttered under his breath. His voice was rough, carrying a tiredness that felt older than him. “Things have been… hard. You’d probably scold me for the fights, for skipping school, for everything I’ve done. But—” He swallowed hard. “I’m trying. I swear I’m trying.”A shuffle of footsteps interrupted him. Max turned.It was Peter.The older boy’s presence was unexpected, his school uniform messy
Chapter 27: The Weight of Justice
The warehouse echoed with the sound of fists slamming into flesh. Max was a storm—his body moved like a man possessed. Every punch, every kick, every elbow strike carried the weight of his fury and the precision of Mas Oyama’s soul link.One by one, the boys dropped. Cries of pain mixed with the thud of collapsing bodies. Max was everywhere—countering, striking, punishing. He was a blur of raw speed and force, and within minutes, the twenty boys who mocked him were scattered across the floor, groaning, broken.At the center of it all, Max stood, chest heaving, eyes burning red with rage.And then he turned to the boy—the ringleader—the one who had lured May and Lois here.The boy tried to crawl backward, but Max grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the filthy floor like a bag of trash. He dropped him in front of May.Max’s voice was low, almost trembling with the effort of holding back. “Family’s not something you throw away. You killed her sister. So now—your punishment i
Chapter 26: Five Minutes
The wind felt cold that afternoon, brushing across Max’s tired face as he walked beside Lois and May. His body was still recovering from the fight with Kael, but curiosity—and maybe a hint of responsibility—kept his feet moving.He glanced at Lois, brow furrowed. “So tell me again—when you spoke to the spirit of May’s sister… did you ask her how she died?”Lois shook her head. “Some spirits don’t remember. They hold onto pain, regret, anger—but not the details. Sometimes it’s just… fragments. Enough to tug them to the living.”Max exhaled, scratching the back of his neck. “That’s convenient.”Lois gave him a side-eye. “It’s not convenient, Max. It’s tragic.”He didn’t argue. Instead, he looked to May, who had been hugging her arms tightly the whole time. “When was the last time you saw her?”May swallowed hard, her voice fragile but steady. “Three weeks ago. She said she was going to meet a friend from school… but she never came home.”The weight in her tone made Max slow his steps. H
Chapter 25: The Girl Named May
The world felt heavy when Max opened his eyes. His body sank into the mattress as if gravity itself had doubled overnight. Every muscle ached, his ribs throbbed, and his head buzzed with the lingering echoes of Kael’s blows. The system notification about the bronze keys was still faintly burned into his mind, a reminder of the chaos from last night.“Don’t even think about moving,” Grimm’s voice cut into the silence of his room. It wasn’t angry—it was practical, firm. “Your body’s screaming for rest. For once, listen to it.”Max groaned and turned his face into the pillow. “For once, I think I will. Forget school. Forget everything. Just… sleep.”But the universe didn’t care about rest.His phone buzzed on the nightstand. Once. Twice. By the third vibration, Grimm muttered, “Ignore it.”Max reached over anyway, fumbling for the phone. The name flashing on the screen made him sigh.Lois.Of course.He answered with a voice that sounded like it had been dragged across sandpaper. “What?”
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